Updated on March 4, 2018

Since the beginning of the century the music market has gradually been moving away from physical media to digital. Before being supplanted by streaming, downloads were the major part of this revolution. What are the most downloaded tracks? Did they all go on sale after the year 2000? You will find the answer in the list below!

Please keep in mind some artists with strong results in this format haven’t been studied so far, e.g. Pharrell Williams, Flo Rida, Kesha or Kanye West. All the figures reflect the value as collected at the time of the artist’s respective articles.

A lot of lists like this one are available in the Data Collector, so feel free to read them to gauge how your favorite artist charts within it.

Tracks Ranking – Raw sales – Downloads + Ringtones

1. 2010 – Adele – Rolling In The Deep [21] – 20,600,000
2. 2010 – Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger [Hands All Over] – 20,200,000
3. 2009 – Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling [The E.N.D.] – 17,700,000
4. 2010 – Eminem ft. Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie [Recovery] – 17,540,000
5. 2011 – Adele – Someone Like You [21] – 17,350,000
6. 2014 – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk [Uptown Special] – 17,030,000
7. 2008 – Lady Gaga – Poker Face [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 16,300,000
8. 2010 – Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are [Doo-Wops & Hooligans] – 16,190,000
9. 2013 – Various Artists – Let It Go [Frozen] – 15,540,000
10. 2009 – Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow [The E.N.D.] – 14,350,000
11. 2012 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – Thrift Shop [The Heist] – 13,360,000
12. 2012 – Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa – Payphone [Overexposed] – 13,100,000
13. 2011 – Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love [Talk That Talk] – 12,960,000
14. 2002 – Eminem – Lose Yourself [8 Mile] – 12,600,000
15. 2010 – Bruno Mars – Grenade [Doo-Wops & Hooligans] – 12,470,000
16. 2008 – Coldplay – Viva La Vida [Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends] – 12,100,000
16. 2010 – Katy Perry – Firework [Teenage Dream] – 12,100,000
18. 2013 – Katy Perry – Roar [Prism] – 11,900,000
19. 2008 – Taylor Swift – Love Story [Fearless] – 11,700,000
20. 2007 – Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend [The Best Damn Thing] – 11,630,000
21. 2008 – Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – Just Dance [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 11,500,000
22. 2007 – Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – Umbrella [Good Girl Gone Bad] – 11,400,000
23. 2006 – Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland – SexyBack [FutureSex/LoveSounds] – 11,310,000
24. 2014 – Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud [x (Multiply)] – 11,300,000
24. 2008 – Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) [I Am… Sasha Fierce] – 11,300,000
26. 2015 – Adele – Hello [25] – 11,270,000
27. 2009 – Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind [The Blueprint 3] – 10,900,000
28. 2012 – Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven [Unorthodox Jukebox] – 10,850,000
29. 2009 – Lady Gaga – Bad Romance [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 10,800,000
30. 2008 – Beyoncé – Halo [I Am… Sasha Fierce] – 10,700,000
31. 2012 – Maroon 5 – One More Night [Overexposed] – 10,400,000
32. 2011 – Lady Gaga – Born This Way [Born This Way] – 10,200,000
33. 2011 – Adele – Set Fire To The Rain [21] – 10,040,000
34. 2013 – Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – Dark Horse [Prism] – 10,000,000
35. 2012 – Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man [Unorthodox Jukebox] – 9,950,000
36. 2010 – Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls [Teenage Dream] – 9,900,000
37. 2012 – Rihanna – Diamonds [Unapolegetic] – 9,840,000
38. 2011 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – Can’t Hold Us [The Heist] – 9,800,000
39. 2008 – Rihanna – Take A Bow [Good Girl Gone Bad] – 9,660,000
40. 1994 – Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas Is You [Merry Christmas] – 9,600,000
41. 2008 – Katy Perry – Hot N Cold [One Of The Boys] – 9,500,000
42. 2010 – Eminem – Not Afraid [Recovery] – 9,400,000
42. 2006 – Beyoncé – Irreplaceable [B’Day] – 9,400,000
42. 2014 – Taylor Swift – Shake It Off [1989] – 9,400,000
45. 2007 – Alicia Keys – No One [As I Am] – 9,300,000
45. 2010 – Black Eyed Peas – The Time (Dirty Bit) [The Beginning] – 9,300,000
45. 2013 – Lorde – Royals [Pure Heroine] – 9,300,000
48. 2012 – P!nk ft. Nate Ruess – Just Give Me a Reason [The Truth About Love] – 9,290,000
49. 2005 – Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie / Sera Sera [Oral Fixation, Vol. 2] – 9,200,000
50. 2010 – Rihanna – Only Girl (In the World) [Loud] – 9,140,000